Lead Pour and Other Odds and Ins!

I just finished up the the lead pour for both the keel and centerboard. Everything went pretty good, but some areas were a challenge. I made two trips to the store for a couple of things. For starters, make sure you have enough propane. I had to make a trip to the store to get another tank as the one I had ran out. Not a huge thing, since the store is only about 10 minutes away. Also the propane burner started to act up and I could not get the flame as hot as I would have liked. I had to wait a while longer for the lead to melt.

I also made a trip to Basspro to buy lead shot. I tried to use the wheel weights,  but I would say 1/2 of it was other metals and I spent more time getting the non-lead out than actually melting and pouring. I know lead shot is expensive, but to me if I had started out with it, it would have made things easier.

The good news, I am done with this task and I have been thinking about it for a while. I have never melted lead and overall, I would not like to do it again, but I will mark it off as something new I have tried. Take your time and everything will work out fine!

Burner and kettle setup.

entire keel under fold-up canopy. notice the water hose, just in case! I also had a fire extinguisher standing by. 

Everything blocked up and clamped. Read for pour. 

Rear keel ready for pour.

The Finished Product. 

Back Keel pour finished. 

I also took Friday off yesterday and was able to get another coat of epoxy on some of the bulkheads and floor supports. 

I was having some issues with the epoxy heating up too quick, so I tried a suggestion from the PocketShip forum to put the cup in ice while I was using it. Seems to do the trick! 

Made a lot of progress. Next up is finishing the 2 coats on the floor supports and bulkheads and then sanding. I will then start working on the long panels.